Mated
by the queen of slurking
Summary: Kate's perspective on after BD, when she and Tanya leave the Cullens and Garrett leaves with them.


'_If we live through this,' Garrett whispered to me, 'I'll follow you anywhere, woman.'_

'_Now he tells me,' I muttered._

I'd been alone for centuries, as had my sisters. For hundreds of years, we'd been alone. True, we managed to have thousands of successful conquests, but once you got past about three hundred, it got tiresome trying not to kill the men.

Once we'd adapted to the vegetarian lifestyle, we were much more able to resist.

It was also tedious having one-night stands, never any lasting relationships. It never changed, from year to year.

Before we became vegetarians, we were the original succubi. And generally, we fed on the men we slept with.

Edward had once teased Tanya about being a succubus-and it was almost true. Except now, there was a difference. The men we were with now were always very conscious of what was happening, not asleep. And always definitely very willing. As attractive as we were to them-vampires were always beautiful to their prey-that was understandable.

It had taken years of practise to be able to be so close to any man without killing him, and now, we succeeded.

Once I'd met Garrett, something about him drew me in. I think it was the adventurousness, the willingness to try anything at least once.

It went deeper than that, of course. In fighting to try and save our cousins from the Volturi and their claims of the immortal child, Garrett and I had gravitated towards one another.

He was also intrigued by the idea of living on animal blood, not human. I suggested he come hunting with my sister and I once, to see how he found it.

He was good-natured about it, and willing to try, but found it difficult. That wasn't hard to understand. In the beginning, when we tried to feed on animal blood, it was so difficult. But we had persisted, not wanting to be responsible for millions of men's deaths, and now it was as much a part of our lifestyle as strength, or heightened senses.

When Garrett had said he'd follow me anywhere if we lived through the battle, something shifted in me. My heart hadn't beaten in centuries, but when he said that, it felt like it could again.

More, I _wanted_ him to follow me. I wanted him to stick around forever, if we had forever. I wanted to get old with him-not in human years, as that wasn't possible, but in vampire years.

If we survived, I wanted him to come with me, back to Alaska.

It was ironic, that I'd found my mate now. After being alone for as long as I had, I found my mate trying to defend family from death. And risking my own death while I was at it.

Listening to the talking was borderline agonizing. It meant I had some time to spend beside Garrett, but also the possibility that that time would end very soon. This was the time when I was particularly grateful to be a vampire: I wasn't sure how well a human could stand something as tense as this.

Finally, everything was resolved. The decision was made that Renesmee posed no threat to the vampire world, and the Volturi turned and left.

Alice confirmed that they weren't returning. Everyone began celebrating, and given the noise, I was again grateful to be a vampire. Human ears may well have been damaged.

Once the celebrations were over, Tanya and I turned to leave. With Irina dead, neither of us wanted to celebrate. We had to grieve for her, and the celebrations weren't helpful.

Garrett was with us as we prepared to leave, and I was sure he'd be with us permanently from now on.

Once in Alaska, Tanya went home, while Garrett and I decided to hunt. On the journey home, he'd asked me to help him change to the vegetarian diet.

I knew it could take a while before he adjusted enough to resist the attraction of human blood, as it had for my sisters and me decades ago, but it would happen.

We had forever now.

Maybe, as Tanya had said at Bella and Edward's wedding, it would be our turn next. I'd been skeptical, but once I'd realized that Garrett was my mate, I had to admit that she was right.

I had to wonder though, when Tanya would find her mate. Now, she was the odd woman out in her family: the Cullens and us. I had found my mate, and all the Cullens had mated too. With luck, she could find someone soon. I knew that she had hoped Edward was hers: when he'd shown up the first day after Bella arrived at the high school, she thought it was because he'd realized they were mated.

For the first time in centuries, I didn't feel alone. I had my mate now, and there was no need for any more one-night stands. I had no need for human men now, as my mate and I weren't likely to be separated anytime soon. We had the rest of our lives, and with luck, that would be forever.

**A/N: I forgot this, so: I don't own anything. Quote at the top is from Breaking Dawn, p 724. **

**Hope you liked it. This is just a one-shot. As you know, I love reviews of any kind. I welcome them with open arms. ****J**

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